Development and Psychometric Validation of the Palliative Care Experience Scale (PCES): An Experience-Oriented...

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Health Services Research
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Population aging increases demand for palliative care.
• China lacks a validated scale for assessing palliative care quality based on patient experience.
• Existing services require effective quality supervision and improvement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and psychometrically test a localized, self-reported scale for palliative care experiences in China.
• To create a measurement tool grounded in the Senses Framework.
• To address the gap in evaluating experiential dimensions of palliative care.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative interviews with 14 patients and 16 families to extract core contributors.
• Two-round Delphi expert consultation with 19 experts.
• Psychometric testing using 380 valid samples from two independent cohorts.

Main Results:

• The 13-item Palliative Care Experience Scale (PCES) with two dimensions was developed.
• The scale explained 79.26% of the variance and showed a stable factor structure.
• High reliability was demonstrated (Cronbach's α = 0.937, McDonald's ω = 0.952).

Conclusions:

• The PCES is a validated, culturally adapted tool for assessing palliative care quality in China.
• It provides a scientific and feasible measurement for service improvement.
• The scale supports clinicians, administrators, and policymakers in advancing patient-centered care.